Apple's Foldable Debut Cracks, and Duo 2 Has One Year to Fix It

Apple's Foldable Debut Cracks, and Duo 2 Has One Year to Fix It

A $1,999 passport that unfolds into a 7.6-inch tablet

The premise comes from PhoneArena: Apple has precisely one year to figure out what went wrong with the iPhone Duo and make the iPhone Duo 2 spectacular in 2027, or it should leave the foldable party. The first foldable iPhone, reviewed by BGR, costs $1,999 in the U.S. for 256 GB, which is $100 more than the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and roughly double an iPhone 18 Pro. Closed it is shaped like a passport, with a 5.4-inch outer display that opens into a 7.6-inch inner display. The frame is grade 5 titanium, the chip is the A20 Pro, and there are two 48MP rear cameras with no dedicated telephoto lens. Macworld notes that initial stock sold out shortly after preorders opened, with estimated deliveries slipping to January 2027.

EU label confirms 4,883 mAh across two cells

Apple's EU energy label puts the iPhone Duo's total battery capacity at 4,883 mAh, matching an earlier leak of 2,962 mAh and 1,921 mAh cells. MacRumors reports the figure should apply worldwide because the Duo is an eSIM-only device, with no physical-SIM variant carrying a smaller battery. For comparison, iFixit found the eSIM-only iPhone 18 Pro has a 4,288 mAh battery, so the Duo sits above the standard Pro. The same reporting underlines the first generation's compromises: authentication only through Touch ID, a heavily criticized omission, and no telephoto camera, which Gurman describes as a physics problem of depth rather than cost.

Cracks along the hinge appear within 24 hours

Tom's Guide reports that less than 24 hours after launch, owners from the U.S. to China and Australia saw the same failure: a large crack on the inner display alongside the hinge, producing a bright white line down the right-hand side of the screen. Photos circulating online show a consistent pattern at exactly the fold. iFixit's teardown analysis found that the breaks cluster near the transition from the gap for the crossing flex cable to the central hinge support, slightly below where the display cable passes through the hinge, at a point where several edges meet and change how the thin display is supported as it bends. An accordion-style ribbon cable runs through the hinge, an area subject to high mechanical stress.

Apple acknowledges a small number of affected units

In a statement quoted by Macworld, Apple says it is "aware of an issue impacting the inner display on a small number of iPhone Duo units." It recommends contacting AppleCare at 1-800-APLCARE for a replacement, consulting the user guide for hinge handling and safety, removing third-party cases or screen protectors, and checking for particles or dust along the hinge and for dents or scratches on the enclosure. iFixit has not confirmed a single cause, floating the theory that a center support does not drop far enough when the phone closes. Apple has said little beyond that, leaving open the internet's questions about dust ingress, unusually stiff hinges, and whether quality-control standards were lowered to secure launch inventory.

Duo 2 prototypes trial under-display Face ID for fall 2027

PhoneArena expects the iPhone Duo 2 in the fall of 2027 alongside the iPhone 20 Pro models, running iOS 28; its predecessor shipped with iOS 27 adapted for the foldable form with a side dock, dual Home Screen pages, and Split View. MacRumors, citing Bloomberg's Mark Gurman on the Power On podcast, reports that iPhone Duo 2 prototypes at Apple already carry an under-display Face ID sensor and camera on the outer screen, with the Touch ID-to-Face ID transition expected in the first or second sequel over the next two to three years. PhoneArena adds that Face ID could arrive as soon as next fall, while a telephoto camera is on Apple's list with no firm date. The verdict implied by the anniversary clock is blunt: hinge reliability plus at least one of Face ID or a real zoom, or the experiment stalls.